Why Does Nature Seem Cruel? Predators, Suffering, and the Hidden Wisdom of Creation

Fazale Rana was born in the state of Iowa in the United States. His father was a physics professor who immigrated from Punjab near Pakistan and was a devout Muslim. His mother was Christian. As a kind of compromise, Rana chose atheism.

Like his father, Rana was exceptionally gifted, but he chose the path of skepticism. He studied biochemistry, yet it was precisely the scientific path that led him to faith. While studying the structure of the cell, he realized that a living cell could not have come into existence by chance. Only a Creator of the world could have formed such a sophisticated structure. At the age of twenty, he began to believe in the Creator.

Today, he is a professor of biochemistry who researches cellular structure.

Predation and Balance in the Animal World

Most of Rana’s articles deal with the structure of the cell, and his research has been published in respected scientific journals. However, one of his articles focuses on relationships within the animal world.

He describes deer hunting he witnessed in his childhood — some of it genuinely for subsistence and meat. When hunting is carried out in proper proportion, it regulates deer populations, which do not always have the capacity to find enough food or sustain herds larger than what suits them.

Wolves and Elk: A Surprising Ecological Study

His article discusses a fascinating study conducted in the state of Michigan. The subject was the impact of wolves on the health of the elk population in Isle Royale National Park, located on an island near Michigan. The park is a completely enclosed ecosystem, situated on an island, where animal populations and health are closely monitored.

How do wolves affect the health of the elk? The answer is surprising.

Examination of the elk that were preyed upon revealed something remarkable: wolves do not tend to prey on healthy elk calves. The instinct implanted in them by the Creator leads them to hunt old elk, or elk that are sick or afflicted with disease or genetic defects.

Because sick elk are preyed upon, the spread of disease is halted. Wolves are immune to these diseases; elk are not. And because genetically defective elk are preyed upon, they do not reproduce, preventing genetic defects from spreading and harming the entire elk population.

Predators as Guardians of Ecological Health

The researchers recommend, for the sake of wildlife health, that in any area where wild animals are maintained, a certain number of predators should also be preserved. Predators possess the instincts and abilities necessary to carry out the selection required to strengthen and improve animal populations.

Yes, it is difficult to watch a wolf hunting and killing an elk — even though it is simply eating for survival, but from a broader perspective, we understand that this is what benefits nature and these species. This is how the world is built.

A Glimpse into a Deeper Wisdom

This does not provide a complete answer to the theological question of why evil exists at all. It merely offers a small window into understanding. Not everything that appears to be purely evil truly is; there is logic and necessity within it.

The very reality that animals and even humans, must hunt and kill is a consequence of Adam’s sin. In the Garden of Eden, there was no need to kill in order to eat. God willing, when we merit to repair the world through the observance of Torah and mitzvot, the verse will be fulfilled: “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb.” There will be no need for predation.

In the meantime, we can contemplate the remarkable planning and profound wisdom embedded in creation.

“How Great Are Your Works, O God”

Rana concludes his article by quoting verses from Psalms:

“You make darkness, and it is night,
in which all the beasts of the forest creep about.
The young lions roar for prey,
seeking their food from God.
When the sun rises, they withdraw
and lie down in their dens.
Man goes out to his work
and to his labor until evening.
How great are Your works, O Lord!
You have made them all with wisdom;
the earth is full of Your possessions.”

Everything is planned. Nothing happens by chance.